RFA in the News (November 2017)

2017-12-11

UPI

Nov. 30 “North Korea defector: News of Kim Jong Un made me leave

Radio broadcasts are changing North Korean perceptions of the outside world as Kim Jong Un may be proving to be an increasingly unpopular leader. … Any hopes were dashed as he listened to news from Radio Free Asia, or Korean-language broadcasts of Voice of America, of the likelihood of an inexperienced heir taking the helm.

YONHAP

Nov. 29 “Britain summons NK envoy to protest ICBM test

… "I summoned the North Korean Ambassador to the Foreign Office to make clear to him our condemnation of the latest ballistic missile test," Minister for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field was cited by Radio Free Asia as saying in a statement.

PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER (Also in STRAITS TIMES)

Nov. 29 “Hun Sen's bid to stay in power: Philippine Daily Inquirer

… The government expelled Radio Free Asia in September, and around the same time forced the closure of The Cambodian Daily newspaper, ostensibly on tax issues. Also, according to Human Rights Watch, the government has closed "independent local radio stations; and FM stations that rebroadcast Radio Free Asia, based in Washington DC, and Voice of America's Khmer language service. On Nov. 25, a court charged two journalists … with espionage for filing news reports to Radio Free Asia."

UPI

Nov. 28 “Kim Jong Un tours catfish farm as soldiers go hungry

… News of his defection has been broadcasted on South Korean loudspeakers facing the border, Radio Free Asia reported.

COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS

Nov. 28 “Vietnamese blogger sentenced to 7 years for anti-state "propaganda"

… Hoa, a freelance blogger, videographer, and photographer who has reported for the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Asia's Vietnamese language service, was first arrested on January 11, 2017, at his home in Ha Tinh, according to news reports.

DIPLOMAT (Also in OUTLOOK INDIA)

Nov. 28 “In Xinjiang, Ethnic Kazakhs and Kyrgyz Face Increased Pressure

… On Friday, Radio Free Asia reported that Chinese authorities in Xinjiang had detained an ethnic Kazakh family which was returning from a visit to relatives in Kazakhstan.

PHNOM PENH POST

Nov. 27 “Journos thank PM for ‘freedom’

… The Club of Cambodian Journalists thanked Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday night during an annual convention after the premier pledged to the group his commitment to press freedom, just months after nearly 20 radio outlets and the Cambodia Daily were shuttered, and while two former Radio Free Asia journalists are under investigation for allegedly unlawfully sending information abroad to their former employer.

CHOSUN ILBO (Also in ASIA TIMES, UPI)

Nov. 27 “N.Korea 'Needs Another Nuke Test to Complete Weapon'

North Korea will probably conduct another nuclear test before it completes its nuclear weapons program, a Chinese source has told Radio Free Asia.

WASHINGTON POST

Nov. 27 “A ‘ghost ship’ washed ashore in Japan, and clues point to North Koreans

… Radio Free Asia reported that North Korean officials warned that citizens living near the Chinese border who are caught helping people defect would be put to death — and the punishments wouldn’t stop there. Family members of violators can be imprisoned or banished to remote regions of North Korea.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Nov. 26 “Cambodia: Hun Sen Seeks to Shut Major Rights Group

… On November 25, a court charged two journalists, Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, with espionage for filing news reports toRadio Free Asia, which the government expelled in September.

SHANGHAIIST

Nov. 24 “Thousands of migrants in Beijing are being evicted, with their homes set for demolition

… Similar notices have also been posted in Changping, Fengtai, and Haidian districts, Radio Free Asia reports.

TAIWAN NEWS

Nov. 23 “China bans tour groups to Vatican, Palau to isolate Taiwan

Beijing has ordered Chinese tour agencies to remove the Vatican and Palau from their list of travel destinations, in an apparent bid to place further pressure on Taiwan's few remaining diplomatic allies to jump ship, reported Radio Free Asia.

SUN

Nov. 21 “Randy North Koreans are begging family for gifts of illegal condoms because birth control is banned

Condoms are banned from manufacture or sale in North Korea, and are blocked from entry at customs posts, a Chinese-North Korean merchant who travels between the countries told Radio Free Asia.

HONG KONG FREE PRESS

Nov. 20 “Friends fear for well-being of Nobel laureate’s widow Liu Xia

… “[Y]ou can imagine someone remaining in a closed, lonely home prison for a long time, and over the past two years, losing her father, mother, and her beloved husband – if someday we hear that she committed suicide, I would not be surprised at all,” Hu told US-backed Radio Free Asia on Sunday.

KHMER TIMES (Also in UCA NEWS)

Nov. 20 “Journalists call for release of former RFA staff

A group of local journalists have written an open letter calling for the release of former Radio Free Asia journalists Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, who were arrested earlier this month.

WASHINGTON POST

Nov. 19 “The White House’s much-needed rebuke to a country smothering democracy

… In recent months, Hun Sen intensified a campaign against civil society and free expression. A hefty tax bill forced the closure of the already ailing Cambodia Daily print newspaper. Local FM stations in Cambodia were ordered to stop carrying Radio Free Asia and Voice of America broadcasts. RFA later closed its office after Cambodian officials threatened to jail reporters. In recent days, police detained two former RFA employes, apparently on grounds they might be engaging in real journalism.

NATION (THAILAND)

Nov. 19 “A brazen attempt to muzzle democracy in Cambodia

… From such cruel methods, the attempt to suppress critical voices has only become more sophisticated. Just this past week, two Cambodian journalists working for the US-funded Radio Free Asia were charged with espionage.

REUTERS (Also in ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, PHNOM PENH POST, ASIAN CORRESPONDENT,DEUTSCHE WELLE, LOWELL SUNEAST ASIA FORUM)

Nov. 18 “Cambodian court charges two U.S.-linked journalists with espionage

… The two journalists, Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, had in the past worked for the Washington-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) which broadcast in the Khmer language. … RFA has said it had had no ties to the two journalists since it shut its Phnom Penh office in September. “In charging two former RFA journalists with espionage, Cambodian authorities have opened the door to more serious forms of intimidation worthy of despots and dictators,” RFA spokesman Rohit Mahajan said in emailed comments.

CHOSUN ILBO

Nov. 17 “Singapore Halts All Trade with N.Korea

Singapore halted all trade with North Korea as of Nov. 8, Radio Free Asia reported Thursday.

COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS (Also in REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS)

Nov. 16 “Two former Radio Free Asia journalists detained in Cambodia

Two former reporters with the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Asia were detained in Cambodia on November 14 on suspicion of illegally producing and disseminating news, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Cambodian authorities to immediately release the pair and drop any charges against them.

KHMER TIMES (Also in PHNOM PENH POST, VOICE OF AMERICA)

Nov. 17 “RFA reporters face espionage charges

Two former Radio Free Asia reporters who were arrested on Tuesday now face spying charges, which carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

NEW YORK TIMES (Also in ASSOCIATED PRESS, PHNOM PENH POST, KHMER TIMESSOUTH CHINA MORNING POST,TIME, AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, SRI LANKA GUARDIAN, NATION)
Nov. 16 “Cambodia’s Top Court Dissolves Main Opposition Party

… In August, the National Democratic Institute, an American nonprofit group, was expelled from Cambodia, and Radio Free Asia, run by the United States government, was shut down for alleged tax offenses. Late Tuesday, two of Radio Free Asia’s former employees in Phnom Penh were arrested, accused of continuing to work covertly for the broadcaster. They are to appearFriday in court to face charges of “supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defense,” which carries a prison term of up to 15 years, police officials said.

INSIDE HIGHER ED

Nov. 16 “Chinese professor says he was suspended from teaching

An economics professor at China’s Guizhou University says he has been suspended and his undergraduate classes canceled,Radio Free Asia reported.”

GEO TV

Nov. 16 “Inside out: My visit to China's Muslim majority Xinjiang province

… Yet, media reports out of the province are never good. In April, according to the US-funded Radio Free Asia, China banned parents from picking Muslim-sounding names. Uighur rights activists often complain of restrictions on practicing their religion. Young men, they claim, are banned from growing full beards and women forbidden from wearing face veils.

KOREA HERALD

Nov. 15 “Radio waves keep N. Koreans in loop

… Among a dozen overseas stations beaming into the Hermit Kingdom, US-funded Radio Free Asia, has been broadcasting in Korean to listeners in the North for the last two decades. Many North Korean defectors, including the country’s former senior diplomat Thae Yong-ho, cited the glimmer of the outside world they encountered on RFA as an influence in their decision to leave their homeland.

WASHINGTON FREE BEACON

Nov. 15 “VOA to Fire Three Employees Over Controversial Radio Interview

… Rubio also questioned if the State Department was seeking to smooth relations with China by curtailing the Guo interview and also supporting a $4.5 million cut in funding for Mandarin language broadcasts by Radio Free Asia, a semi-official broadcaster.

WASHINGTON POST (Also in DAILY MAIL)

Nov. 14 “Jesus won’t save you — President Xi Jinping will, Chinese Christians told

… In August, officials also forcibly removed crosses in Yugan county, according to Radio Free Asia — mirroring a similar campaign that took place in recent years in neighboring Zhejiang province.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nov. 13 “Cambodia's opposition seeks US help amid crackdown

… Cambodia's government also has targeted civil society and media, shuttering radio stations with programming from US-fundedRadio Free Asia and Voice of America.

YONHAP

Nov. 11 “U.N. agency lacking in humanitarian budget for N. Korea

… Radio Free Asia (RFA) said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) aimed to raise US$113.5 million in 2017 to support various humanitarian activities in North Korea but has so far secured only US$33.9 million.

IRRAWADDY

Nov. 10 “Analysis: How will the Myanmar Army React to US Sanctions?

… When asked in an interview with Radio Free Asia, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi described relations as “normal.” But other signs suggest relations are not good, the most recent example being the declaration of a state of emergency in Rakhine State.

ASIA TIMES

Nov. 10 “Missing pilot did not defect, Taiwan defence chief says

… Taiwan’s Defence Minister Feng Shih-kuan was upset by a Radio Free Asia (RFA) reporter who asked if the missing pilot on the jet actually defected to China.

HONG KONG FREE PRESS

Nov. 10 “Citizen journalist Ding Lingjie may have been detained for posting video about Xi Jinping, lawyer says

… After visiting Ding in a Beijing Detention Centre on Wednesday, Ren Quanniu told US-funded Radio Free Asia the citizen journalist may have been arrested for a clip posted online in September.

PHNOM PENH POST

Nov. 10 “Lu Lay Sreng claims existence of “spies” in the CPP

… During an interview with Radio Free Asia, the former deputy prime minister from the royalist Funcinpec party claimed a “high-ranking official at the Ministry of Interior” had warned him of his imminent arrest.

TIBET POST

Nov. 9 “Prayer festival cancelled as religious oppression in Tibet continues

… A Tibetan who spoke to the Tibetan language service of Radio Free Asia said, “The festival organizers had fully prepared for the event,” he said.

FOREIGN POLICY

Nov. 7 “Facebook Can’t Cope With the World It’s Created

… Activists turned to Facebook for news reports from the Cambodia Daily and Radio Free Asia, for updates from human rights groups like LICADHO, and for messages from march organizers and journalists.

YONHAP

Nov. 6 “U.S. congressmen oppose U.S. military action against N.K.

… "There are no good military options for North Korea. Invading North Korea could result in a catastrophic loss of lives for U.S. troops and U.S. civilians in South Korea," Radio Free Asia cited the statement, led by Rep. Ted Lieu, as saying.

IRRAWADDY

Nov. 5 “Collaboration is Key to Solving Rakhine Crisis

… Last but not least, the international community must know that relations between the government and the military—the most powerful and established institution in Myanmar—are not stable. When asked in an interview with Radio Free Asia, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi described relations as “normal.”

ASIA SENTINEL

Nov. 2 “A River of Donor Money Into Cambodia Does No Good

… That question has assumed crucial importance in recent weeks as the strongman Hun Sen has ousted two NGOs and closed more than a dozen radio stations as well as the local offices of Radio Free Asia and the Cambodia Daily. It appears the Cambodian Rescue Party, the main opposition, will be dissolved by the Supreme Court.

PHNOM PENH POST (Also in VOA)

Nov. 1 “Facebook’s new Explore Feed vexing Cambodian media and NGOs amid crackdown on dissent

… None of the country’s television stations, private or state-run, were broadcasting the assassinated political analyst’s funeral procession. Yet Dimo joined millions of others who watched the event not from the streets, but from their phones – through a live feed from Radio Free Asia staffed by dozens of their reporters.